How people power is shaking up the fashion sector
Over the past two years the fashion industry has been undergoing a quiet revolution.
I’m not talking about the accelerating pace at which the latest styles fly from the runways to the rails, nor the growth of e-commerce and social marketing, bridging the divide between seller and buyer, maker and wearer.
I’m talking Detox.
In just over 2 years, the combined power of activists, fashionistas, bloggers and shoppers from around the world – united in their belief that the clothes we wear should carry a story we can be proud of – has led to 20 companies committing to Detox. And while these commitments – from luxury brands like Valentino and Burberry to high-street regulars, like Zara, Mango and H&M – represent the critical first steps down the runway to a toxic-free fashion.
While there is still a long way to go before toxic-free fashion becomes the norm, the help of people around the world getting us to this point has been huge. Major brands are influenced by public perception and global action. The role this new global movement has played in putting this issue firmly on the agenda of global fashion brands and suppliers, and forcing them to respond with the urgency the situation demands has been critical in the Detox campaign’s ongoing success.
24th April 2014 will mark one year since the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, which killed 1133 people and affected many more. Fashion Revolution Day encourages people to ask: “Who Made Your Clothes?” – a global demand to make fashion more transparent and ensure our clothes carry a story we can all be proud of. Join us, and thousands around the world, to mark Fashion Revolution Day and echo the call to turn fashion #InsideOut.
Ilze Smit is a Detox Campaigner at Greenpeace International.
You can follow her on twitter: @ilze_gp
